CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 31ST OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, TECHNOLOGY, CARS AND E-COMMERCE

1. The board of Century Textiles has appointed Kumar Mangalam Birla as the Vice-Chairman of Century Textiles.
2. The Prem Watsa founded Fairfax Financial Holdings will increase its stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance by 9% for Rs 1,550 Crores.
3. Tata SIA joint venture appointed Sanjiv Kapoor as its Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer.
4. Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car maker has once again topped the after sales customer service satisfaction rankings conducted by International Research firm JD Power.
5. Entertainment Network Viacom 18 has appointed Ferad Palia as the head of Youth Brand MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies.
6. Tata Teleservices Maharashtra has posted net loss of Rs 156 Crores during July September Period.
7. Renault India's new new entry level hatchback kwid has managed to get 50,000 bookings within five weeks of its launch.
8. Titan Company profit declined 25% to Rs 145 Crores.
9. Shoppers Stop posted a 24% drop in its net profit for the September quarter. The company posted a net profit of Rs 13 Crores.
10. Larsen & Toubro net profit increased to Rs 996 Crores for the September Quarter.
11. Suzlon Energy Ltd reported a consolidated loss of Rs 181 Crore for September Quarter.
12. Investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala picked up 1.05% stake in Jet Airways for Rs 50.5 Crores through an open market transaction.
13. Private Sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 31% growth in consolidated net profit for the July-September 2015 Quarter to Rs 942 Crores.
14. ICICI bank posted a 12% rise in net profit to Rs 3,030 Crores.
15. Karnataka Bank reported a 15.59% jump in second quarter profits at Rs 102.25 Crores.
16. Fiat Chrysler is recalling 900,000 vehicles around the world to fix issues relating to airbag department and anti-lock braking system.
17. SH Kelkar's IPO has been subcribed 27 times compared to 20.2 million shares on offer. The Rs 500 Crore IPO saw 546 million bids worth Rs 9,800 Crores.
18. WS Retail, the largest seller on India's biggest online marketplace Flipkart, nearly tripled its turnover to Rs 10,163 Crores in FY 15.
19. Facebook has parted BSNL to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural India to drive digital penetration in India.
20. Flipkart plans to invest to Rs 26,000 Crores in Logistics Push.
21. Ajanta Pharma reported a 20.4% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 100 Crores for the second quarter ended September 30,2015.
22. Jabong has appointed MD Sanjeev Mohanty as its CEO.
23. Jungoo has received fresh funding of $10 million from PayTM.

   

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Centre's Fiscal Deficit in the first half of the curent financial year stood at Rs 3.78 Lakh Crore or 68.1 % of the Budget estimate for the year.
2. The RBI's Foreign Exchange Reserves fell $1.98 billion to $351.55 billion.
3. IPL 8 contributed Rs 1,150 Crores to India's GDP.
4. Air Travel between big cities and metro to cost more as government is planning to levy 2% cess.
5. UN Report has said that the global temperature may rise by2.7' Celsius.
6. The maximum speed has been incraesed at Bandra -Worli Sea link is 80 Kmph and on Marine Lines to 60Kmph.
7. To avert bus strike, BEST gives workers Rs 5000 bonus.
8. Only 17.5% pass in CBSE's Central Teacher Eligibility Test out of the 6.5 lakh candidates.
9. Filmmaker and Veteran Naresh Saxena announced that he will return the 1991 national award he received for his shortfilm 'Sambandh'.

  

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 30TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CARS

1. IndiGo IPO receives bid for more than six times the shares on sale.
2. Xiaomi will begin a Pre-diwali sale where consumers will be able to purchase Mi Goodies for Rs 1 from November 3.
3. Online platform AskMe, the flagship product of Getit Infomedia, that provides information on restaurants, travel, matrimony, jobs, education, mobile and gadgets in the title sponsor for the second edition of the Grand Diwali Mela.
4. 7,200 startups have been selected to participate in Facebook's FbStart.
5. Samsung Quarter 3 earnings reveal first profit in two years.
6. Nestle announced 60% drop in its consolidated net profit for september quarter. It declined to Rs 124 Crore from Rs 311 Crore. Its income came down from Rs 2,586 Crore to Rs 1,769 Crore.
7. Beacon Technologies has raised Rs 52 Lakh in a seed round funding.
8. Dr Reddy Laboratories net profit for second quarter grew 26% to Rs 722 Crores while sales grew 11% to Rs 3,989 Crores.
9. Aditya Birla Group Grasim Industries reported 17% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 489 Crore for September Quarter.
10. Bharat Forge muted earnings growth on account of lower revenue was Rs 175.1 Crore as compared to Rs 174.2 Crore.
11. Tyre Maker MRF reported a 45.4% surge in its net profit at Rs 460.7 Crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2015.
12. FMCG major Colgate Palmolive reported a 21.1% rise in its net profit to Rs 156.9 Crore for the second quarter September 30.
13. FMCG firm Emami reported 33% decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 61.3 Crore for the Second quarter ended September 30.
14. Drug Firm Jubilant LifeSciences reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 115.8 Crores for the second quarter ended september 30.
15. Local Search Engine Just Dial has reported a 47% surge in its net profit at Rs 46.3 Crores for the quarter ended September 30.
16. Infrastructure Major HCC  reported fivefold jump in standalone net profit at Rs 38.4 Crore for the quarter ended September 30.
17. Food ordering platform Tiny Owl has raised Rs 50 Crore from existing investors Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners.
18. Last Minute Hotel Bookings startup is in talks to raise up to Rs 65 Crores to beef up its technology and expand operations.
19. Foreign Companies are in talks to buy a stake of upto 24% in Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh owned by BPCL and Oman's State Oil firm.
20. Drug Maker Cipla has entered into an agreement to sell its entire stake in Biomab Holding to Biomab Brilliant for a consideration for $ 25 million.
21. BeaconsTalk  raises Rs 52 Lakh in seed round funding.
22. Rajeev Bakshi will step down as the MD of German Retail Company Metro Cash And Carry by the end of January 2016.
23. Sanjiv Kapoor has stepped down as COO of SpiceJet.
24. Essel Finance applies for license to start housing finance business.
25. Noida based Moglix raises abou $ 1.5 million from Accel Partners and Jungle Ventures.
26. Allergan Inc, the company that manufactures Botox and Viagra maker Pfizer Inc confirmed they were in talks for merger.
27. Regulate online sale of Drugs Bombay High Court tells state.
28. Global Private Equity major General Atlantic is leading an upto $200 million or Rs 1,300 Crore investment in online payment services provider BillDesk.

    

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. The telecom regulator TRAI stood by its order that carriers must compensate users for dropped calls and said it was technologically possible to detect whether a call had dropped due to an error on part of the operator or not.
2. IndiGo IPO receives bid for more than six times the shares on sale.
3. Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir fighting militancy has gunned down top LeT chief Abu Qasim in an encounter in an encounter in Kulgam area of south kashmir.
4. The Centre will fund top 10 institutes to help them get into the Big League.
5. India has announced a Line of Credit of $10 billion at a concessional rate for a period of five years to Africa besides extending $600 million for development related, economic and capacity building projects in addition to the ongoing LoC supported programs.
6. The Centre has decided to create 140 posts for its support arm units.
7. The members of dance troupe returns Rs 8 Lakhs to CM'S relief Fund.
8. China has scrapped the 1 child policy and announced that all married couples can have 2 children.
9. Regulate online sale of Drugs Bombay High Court tells state.
10. The medical department led by state minister Vinod Tawade appointed additional collector Sanjay Nirbhane as administrative dean of Government run JJ Hospital.
11. Swachh Maharashtra Mission, government officials have voluntarily adopted 19 towns in the state to implement the project in timebound manner.
12. Under the New Education Policy proposed by the Centre, students of Classes I to VI may be taught in their mother tounge.
13. TRAI has decided to name and shame telecos facing call drop complaints.
14. The world bank sees India growing at 7.5% in FY16.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 29TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CARS

1. Reliance Jio may have delayed launch of its fourth generation mobile internet services to the next financial year. Having invested Rs 100,000 Crore in the venture and plans to put a similar amount in the upcoming days and has set a target of 100 million subscribers.
2. Interglobe aviation's Rs 3,100 Crores IPO offering was fully subscribed. The IPO has fully received 32.6 million bids, 1.36 times of the 30 million shares on offer.
3. Jet airways reported a net profit of Rs 83 Crores in the September Quarter.
4. Maruti Suzuki is set to start an experiment for a new sales network to sell light commercial vehicles due to launch early nexy year. The network of LCV's will be smaller, no-frills set up, without air-conditioning.
5. Competition Commission of India have dismissed a complaint on Jaypee Group.
6. Videocon has tied up with Microsoft to launch Windows based Smart Television Sets.
7. Hindustan Coca-Cola, the bottling arm, gets Marketing and Distribution rights of products under Georgia brand.
8. Flipkart would showcase phones at various Spice Hotspot Stores across India.
9. Hero Moto Corp launches its new Duet Scooter priced at Rs 48,400.
10. HT Media profit down by 8.7% for the quarter ended September 2015. The profit touched Rs 48 Crores from Rs 52 Crores.
11. JSW Energy profit up by 54%. The consolidated net profit for the quarter was Rs 491.9 Crores.
12. TVS Shriram Growth Fund acquires 4% equity stake in Indian Energy Exchange for Rs 81 Crores.
13. JK Tyre net profit for september up by 88%. The net profit rose to Rs 110 Crores from Rs 58 Crores.
14. Telenor India's operating loss widens to Rs 286 Crores in the September 2015 Quarter.
15. Ambuja Cement's Profit down by 35% from weak cement demand.
16. Jes Staley appointed as CEO of Barclays.
17. Drug Store chain Walgreens Boots alliance Inc would acquire smaller peer Rite Aid Corp for $ 9.4 billion.
18. Oriental Bank of Commerce plans to raise capital worth Rs 1000 Crores through Basel III Compliant Tier II bonds.
19. Axis Banks plans to Raise Rs 3000 Crores by way of Infrastructure Bonds.
20. Syndicate Bank profit up by 5.3% to Rs 332 Crores in September quarter.
21. Telecom major NTT Communications might invest Rs 2000 Crores to double its data centre business in India.
22. HDFC Bank has been ranked as 27th safest bank in the world.
23. Reliance Jio to raise Rs 3000 Crores by issuing debentures.
24. 320 million active users on Twitter compared to last year.
25. Torrent Power Reports Rs 246.2 Crores Net Profit in the September Quarter.
26. Exide Industries posted 24% rise in net profit at Rs 156 Crores for the second quarter September 30.
27. The Rs 500 Crore IPO of SH Kelkar was subscribed 0.4 times on 1st day.
28. Go Airlines plans to raise $ 150 million from IPO.
29. Volkswagen sees 1st quarterly loss in 15 years.
30. Times Group launches India's First realty channel MagicBricks Now.

       

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Vidya Devi Bhandari appointed as First woman Pesident of Nepal.
2. Bank Credit grows 9.5% to Rs 68 lakh Crores.
3. Government approves 16 FDI proposals worth Rs 4,722 Crores.
4. Najib Shah was appointed as the chairman of CBEC.
5. Dibakar Banerjee and 9 other filmmakers have returned their national awards in support of FTII students and against killing of writers.
6. The Supreme Court has refused to put a ban on bursting firecrackers .
7. Oscar Winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow was feted with the Style Icon Award this year.
8. Facebook founder and CEO backs net neutrality and Free basics.
9. The transport department plans to increase the cost of new permits from Rs 200 to Rs 20,000.
10. FTII students call off 139 day strike.

  

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 28TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, CARS AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Jasper Infotech which operates online marketplace Snapdeal.com is in talks with existing and new investors to raise about Rs 2000 Crores for its digital services platform Freecharge.
2. ReNew Power has raised Rs 1,700 Crores of equity from Abu Dhabi investment authority , Goldman Sachs and Global Enviornment Fund.
3. Flipkart has blacklisted about 40 sellers through its mystery shopping network of 60 employees.
4. Narendra Modi's government attempt of ease of doing business have yielded a good result with the country jumping from 142nd spot to 130th spot as per the reports of World Bank.
5. Instant messaging based delivery startup Magic Tiger has acquired Zoyo, an artificial intelligence based platform that allows users to shop over chat.
6. Mobile Technology company Quixey which is backed by Chinese ecommerce Alibaba group has launched a product that tries to reimagine the android experience with a new launcher which brings all its capabilities of a smartphone into one searchable hub.
7. 570 million daily active users on WeChat in September 2015.
8. Lupin reported a 35% drop in net profit to Rs 408.8 Crore from Rs 630 Crore a year ago.
9. TVS Motor Company reported a 22% increase in standalone net profit at Rs 116.41 Crores for the second quarter ended September 2015.
10. Blackberry appoints Narendra Nayak as MD of India operations.
11. Two employees of TCS have been taken into police custody for allegedly tampering with the database of Geomological Institute of America and altering diamond grading reports.
12. Vedanta profit declines 41% in Quarter 2.
13. Jubilant Life looks to raise Rs 1,300 Crores through issuing of securities.
14. Realty firm Tata Housing has sold 250 flats worth over Rs 100 crores in its housing project at Goa.
15. Tyre maker CEAT posted 30.4% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 107 Crores for the second quarter.
16. Thermax reported 24.6% drop in standalone net profit at Rs 64.8 Crores for the quarter ended September 30 2015.
17. Bharti Airtel sold its 700 towers in Burkina Faso to Eaton Towers making it the most recent deal the indian telecom major has concluded in its move to sell its towers in Africa and use the proceeds to pare debt.
18. Trend West, the yet to be launched online venture of Tata Trent has acquihired the fashion vertical of Bengaluru based brand Eat.Shop.Love. (ESL) to power its foray into e-commerce.
19. Idea Cellular the country's third largest telecom carrier by subscribers is in talks with China's TCL communications to procure 4G ready smartphones to support its soon to be launched high-speed broadband services in the country.
20. Axis Bank profit rises 19% in quarter 2.
21. Fragrance manufacturer S H kelkar has raised Rs 150 Crores from a group of anchor investors.
22. InterGlobe Aviation the parent of IndiGo Airline was subscribed 87% of its Rs 3,018 Crores issue size on the opening day.
23. Ortho Clinical Diagnostics a business unit of Johnson and Johnson India has been hived off into a separate company as a part of a global restructuring.

   

ECONOMY, POLITICS, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne have joined the chorus clamouring for cricket to become an olympic sport.
2. Indian Leg Spinner Amit Mishra is arrested by Bengaluru police and questioned for about three hours and then gets bail.
3. Road Transport And Highways Minister said that Central Government is planning to award over 100 road projects under Public-Private Partnership mode in the next fiscal year.
4. The Maharashtra Government has exempted students in drought hit Marathwada from paying bus fares on the state transport buses.
5. BJP led NDA government may reduce the number of centrally sponsored schemes to 50 and flexi funds available to states to 25% from 10%.
6. Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement has the potential to increase Global merchandise exports by up to $ 1 trillion per annum with developing countries expected to capture more than half of its gains said WTO.
7. Maharashtra Government has decided to withdraw its controversial sedition circular.
8. Underworld Don Chhota Rajan's trusted aide Vicky Malhotra could be king over Rajan's Business.
9. Raigad Traffic Police and the state highway traffic police caught 40 speeding motorists on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at Lodhivali on Sunday.
10. CIDCO earned nearly Rs 200 Crores through the sale of seven tender plots in Nerul and Belapur.
11. Around 250 kg fish were found dead along the shores of Airoli, Gothivili and Ghansoli creeks.
12. HC to see if FB contract puts privacy at stake.
13. CBI charges rice producer REI Agro for defrauding 15 banks of Rs 3,814 Crores.
14. Ban on CM's photos in ads irrational and unreasonable, Centre tell SC.
15. Washington State expects marijuana sales tax to bring in more than $1 billion over the next four years. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 27TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CARS

1. Nestle has begun production of Maggi Noodles in three states after the brand cleared court directed safety tests last week. The states in which it has resumed its production are Karnataka, Goa and Punjab.
2. Bharti Airtel, the India's largest telecom operator reported a 10.1% rise in net profit for the September quarter to Rs 1,523 Crores.
3. InterGlobe aviation, the company's most profitable airline, IndiGo, raised Rs 832 Crores from 43 Anchor investors.
4. HDFC has become the first Indian Company to receive an in-principle board approval to raise rupee denominated bonds abroad also called as masala bonds,. The company's board approved raising up to $ 750 million via this route.
5. The department of disinvestment wants the PSU stake sale target for the current financial year be more than halved to Rs 30,000 Crores.
6. Meru Cabs is planning to raise $ 100 million by the first quarter of 2016. It is planning to raise $ 200 million in 2016.
7. Essar Projects along with Italy's Saipem SpA, won a $ 1.57 billion order from Kuwait National Petroleum Country to set up Al-Zour Refinery project in Kuwait.
8. Vodafone India's enterprise division has tied up with construction equipment maker JCB India to provide remote monitoring services of the machines also known as machine to machine services.
9. Drug Maker Lupin has announced the launch of calcium acetate capsules in the US market.
10. Netmeds.com announced it had closed on $ 50 million in tranched financing.
11. Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd a telecom service provider has posted a 4% increase in Profit After Tax at Rs 72 Crore for the september quarter.
12. Public Cloud Service Revenue in India is forecast to touch $731 million by the end of 2015, growing more than 31% over the last year.
13. Crompton Greaves is selling its power systems business to PTI holdings Corporation for C$20 million.
14. Standard Chartered plans to exit from equity derivatives and convertible bonds businesses.
15. Toshiba Corp is set to sell its image sensor business to Sony Corp for around 20 billion yen.
16. Intercontinental Exchange Inc would buy Financial Data firm Interactive Data Corp from investment firms Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus LLC in a deal valued at $5.2 billion.
17. State run Rural Electrification Corp is planned to raise Rs 700 Crores through public issue of tax free non-convertible bonds.
18. Indian E-Commerce sector's growth looks strong and is expected to reach $35 billion by 2019.
19. HDFC bank India's Second largest private sector lender has rationalised the number of Automated Teller Machines network by 276 in the July-September Quarter.
20. Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd will issue long term bonds worth Rs 2000 Crores to Life Insurance Corporation Of India.
21. State Bank of Mysore reported a 30% jump in Net Profit to Rs 131.98 Crores for the July-September quarter.
22. The Reserve Bank of India has allowed foreign investors to raise their stake upto 74% in DEN networks.
23. Premji Invest has picked up a minority stake in Hygienic Research Institute, the maker of Vasmol and Streax Hair Colour Products for Rs 216 Crores.
24. ASCI has upheld complaints against 74 campaigns for misleading ads, including those of e-commerce majors Amazon and FMCG biggies such as HUL and Reckitt Benckiser.
25. Reliance Brands will soon foray into two new retail segments- Beauty and Children's clothing and also want to step up its online presence for its luxury brands through exclusive web stores.
26. Mobile Phone and Tablet maker Data Wind is teaming up with Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communications to launch the world's most affordable smartphone priced at Rs 999 by the end of 2015.
27. Online Payment gateway Razorpay has raised about Rs 58 Crores in a round led by Tiger Global.
28. Talent assessment and analytics platform Jombay has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Venture Works India.
29. Hyperlocal delivery startup Roadrunnr has raised Rs 65 Crores from internal investors Sequoia Capital and Nexus Ventures.
30. 30% of all UBER rides take place in China.
31. Entertainment Network India Limited operator of India's largest FM radio channel Radio Mirchi posted a 16% jump in quarterly net profit to Rs 27 Crores.
32. Oman India Joint Investment fund sold off its entire stake of 4.28% in Solar Industries India for a little over Rs 240 Crores.
33. Thomas Cook Owned Sterling Holiday Resorts has signed an agreement to acquire a full stake in Mumbai based adventure holiday company Nature Trails Resorts for an undisclosed sum.
34. Quess Corp has signed an deal to buy Srilankan arm of Human Resources service provider Randstad India for an undisclosed amount.
35. Energy Solutions provider Inox Wind reported a 63.4% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 89.1 Crore for september quarter.
36. Drug maker Lupin appointed Martin Mercer as President of its Latin American Business with immediate effect.
37. Drug Maker Alkem Laboratories has received SEBI's approval to raise Rs 1,500-3,500 Crores through an IPO.

       

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Afghanistan's strongest earthquake measuring 7.5 on the richter scale, in about six decades shook buildings across South Asia prompting officials to send rescue teams to search for survivors.
2.  The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration will soon file a petition in the Supreme Court to continue the ban on Maggi Noodles.
3. Underworld Don Chhota Rajan arrested in Bali, Indonesia.
4. The government has appointed the national co-covenor of BJP's legal cell and the secretary of BJP parliamentary Party, Balasubrahmanyam Kamarsu on the board of Employees Provident Fund Organisation as an industry representative.
5. Director General of National Investigation Agency Sharad Kumar is all set to get an extension for another year.
6. The mass Hindu pilgrimage Kumbh Mela could soon be nominated by the Indian Government for inscription on the Global Intangible Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO.
7. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the notifiaction for One Rank One Pension will be issued before Diwali.
8. Deepika Kumari bagged her fourth silver medal in five years at the Archery World Cup Final.
9. India have retained their second position in the ICC ODI ranking despite their 2-3 defeat to South Africa.
10. Wankhede stadium Curator and Former Test Opener Sudhir Naik has lodged an official complaint with MCA against Team India director Ravi Shastri for abusing him during fifth odi.
11. The Rajasthan Government is in the process of doing away with the old syllabus in government schools. More than 3 crore textbooks which are worth Rs 50 Crore will fetch around Rs 5 Lakhs.
12. Geeta the deaf and mute girl who landed in Pakistan mistakely has returned to India. 
13. The state industries department has registered a seven fold increase in assured industrial investments and employment since last october. Maharashtra has received investments assurances of Rs 72,325 crores with a promised creation of 72,904 jobs in 42 projects.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 26TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CARS

1. Fairfax India Holdings Corporation has decided to restrict its voting rights in financial services firm IIFL holdings to 25 percent, even if it acquires more shares after open offer.
2. NITI Aayog Panel says that India's Business Environment is unfriendly to both corporate investment and innovation.
3. Handset Vendor Lava would invest Rs 500 Crores to set up manufacturing plant in Tirupati. It will also invest Rs 2,165 Crores in Noida and Tirupati units to generate capacity of 18 million devices per month by 2021.
4. Mumbai based Sunteck Realty plans to invest Rs 1000 Crores in the next two years for acquiring distressed assets and entering joint development agreements to increase its portfolio.
5. Air Costa, awaiting the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation's approval to fly pan-India, is in talks with various investors for raising funds.
6. Krypton valued at $400 million.
7. Google will take a minority stake in Beijing based artificial intelligence firm Mobvoi as a part of a $75 million fund raising round as the US search giant tries to rebuild its presence in China. The Google led series C fund raising values Mobvoi at $300 million.
8. Singapore based workforce planning analytics software start-up HRBoss has raised an investment round worth $2 million.
9. Mobile wallet company MobiKwik plans to raise $50-100 million in the next few months to fund its expansion across online and offline platforms.
10. SRS Cinemas will infuse Rs 45-60 Crores seed investments to set up new properties in the urban and semi-urban areas of South and East zones of the country with a special focus on tier 3 and tier 4 cities.
11. Government owned BSNL and MTNL have started discussion with private telecom companies to share spectrum.
12. Maserati North America Inc is recalling some of its 2014 Quattroporte GTS V8 sedans because of the potential for an engine compartment fire or stalling in the $141500 luxury sedans capable of speeds as much as 190 miles per hour.
13. Goldman Sachs expects Indian E-Commerce to reach $103 billion by FY20.
14. Online hotel aggregators Oyo Rooms is in talks to raise $400 million and Zo Rooms is in talks to raise $200 millions of funds.
15. Flipkart the country's largest online retailer and marketplace sold more than $200 million of worth mobile phones during 5 day Big Billion Day Sale with most consumers demanding 4G backed devices.
16. Jeweller Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri plans to increase its retail space from 93,000 sq.feet  to 150,000 sq.feet in two-three years through the franchisee route.
17. Volkswagen will freeze managerial promotions next year at its VW division as a part of savings drive to help meet more than 30 billion Euros of costs arising from the diesel emissions tests scandal.
18. 2 trillion public posts on facebook all of which are now searchable.
19. Nippon Life Insurance is set to acquire another 23% of Reliance Life Insurance for Rs2,500 Crores to increase its stake in the Joint Venture with Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital to 49%.
20. On demand shipping startup Parcelled has raised $ 50 million in its latest round of funding led by logistics company Delhivery.
21. Storied healthcare entrepreneur G S K Velu is starting a family office with an initial corpus of Rs 500 Crores for early stage and growth capital investments.
22. Amazon will open a diwali store on its US and UK websites this year.

    

ECONOMY, POLITICS, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. China may cut its GDP growth target to 6.5% from 7% in its next 5 year plan from coming year.
2. The Andhra Pradesh government has reduced excise duty and value added tax on lower category liquor to make these affordable to the masses.
3. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu called for a fight against corruption at the grass root level while flagging off a marathon in the city to sensitise people on the issue.
4. The Income Tax Department will roll out next weeks its 'pilot' project to conduct scrutiny assessment in an e-enviornment when they begin sending queries through e-mail to 500 select tax payers without calling them to offices.
5. October 28 and November 1 will see the third and fourth phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks citizens to deposit gold in banks for nation's economic prosperity. The gold monetization scheme will be launched before Dhanteras.
7. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission and other Khadi promoting institutions have developed wheels with more spindles that can run on solar power.
8. Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee urged the people of Bihar to vote for Nitish Kumar.
9. PM Narendra Modi kept the I-Day promise by announcing that there will be no interviews for all Central Government posts belonging to the Group B, C and D categories from January 2016 to prevent middlemen from exploiting vacancies by guarantying them jobs in lieu of money.
10. The CBI has unearthed lapses on the part of IDBI bank officials who were instrumental in the sanctioning the Rs 950 Crores loan to Vijay Mallya's now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.
11. The Madras High Court has suggested castration of child sex offenders.
12. Gangster Ravi Pujari has allegedly issued death threats to two karnataka ministers  over murder of Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary.
13. The Maharashtra Government has acquired a staggering 1.92 lakh hectares of land over 15 years. Irrigation projects accounted for 76% of the land while industry accounted for 14%.
14. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research launched 'BGR-34', the first scientifically validated ayurvedic drug for management of type-II diabetes.
15. Forensic Reports have revealed four names in the suicide note of builder suresh parmar.
16. Many B-school aspirants get CAT centres outside Mumbai.
17. 25% student info on SARAL are yet to be verified.
18. Vartika Singh finished second runner up at the Miss Grand International 2015 Pageant held in Bangkok.
19. To put an end to rising cases of non-performing assets in banks and loans to undeserving entities, the government has now made it mandatory for all financial institutions to obtain an affidavit from auditors who sign balance sheet of companies applying for advances.
20. Pakistani Novelist Kanza Javed, denied Visa to take part in the Kumaon Lit Fest, launched her novel ' Ashes, Wine and Dust ' over Skype from her home in Lahore.
21. The Reserve Bank of India has turned down the proposal from government to allow upto 100% FDI in banks.

     

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 25TH OCTOBER 2015

POLITICS, ECONOMY, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, CRIMES AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. The Indian Air Force is all set to train woman fighter pilots by June 2017 after the government approved their induction in combat roles.
2. Thane police have denied permission to MIM leader Akbarrudin Owaisi to hold a rally in Kalyan for the forthcoming KDMC elections.
3. The Air Intelligence Unit of Customs seized around 1 kg gold worth Rs 23.17 Lakh concealed in cardpaper at the International Airport in Mumbai.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a memorial at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's London House during UK visit in November.
5. Security Arrangements have been beefed up at the Navi Mumbai Muncipal Corporation headquarters and also at railway stations here after an anonymous letter threatening to blow up NMMC, konkan Bhavan and railway stations.
6. A member of Sutlej Club at Ludhiana misbehaved with Bollywood Singer Alka Yagnik when she was at Ludhiana for performance.
7. In a big relief to Indian nurses working in Britain, the Cameron government has included nursing as a profession in 'shortage occupation' list. Around 30,000 overseas nurses who faced the axe under new immigration rules, including thousands from India, would not be made to leave India.
8. Chinese Actress, singer and model Angela Yeung known as the 'Kim Kardashian' of China, got hitched recently to actor Huang Xiaoming in a lavish ceremony that cost $31 million.   
9. A french man stands accused of forcing his wife to have sex with more than 2,700 man to make thousands of pounds a month.
10. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar questioned the "silence" of PM Narendra Modi over the killing of two dalit children in haryana. 
11. Roman Catholics have agreed to a qualified opening towards divorcees who have remarried outside the church but rejected calls for more welcoming language towards homosexuals. Vatican city opens up to divorcees, but gays still not welcomed.
12. Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb has been arrested for his alleged involvement in alleged assassination bid on President Abdulla Yammen. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 24TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Amazon Inc India's Business has quadrupled in 2015 over the previous year as customers and sellers have risen more than threefold.
2. The Apple watch will launch in India on November 6. The premium end wearable is expected to cost over Rs 30,000.
3. Asian Paints reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 399 Crores for second quarter ended September 30.
4. Telecommunications tower Bharti Infratel's Net Profit for the quarter ended September grew by 25% from year ago period.
5. Honda Cars India announced recall of 3,879 units of CVT variants of Honda City manufactured from February 2014 to November 2014.
6. Japanese auto major Toyota is evaluating if vehicles need to be recalled in India as part of the company's global recall of 65 Lakh cars to fix potentially defective power window switches.
7. Ericsson, the world's largest telecom gear maker, said India was its fastest growing market in the quarter to September and among the top five in terms of sales.
8. Textile Conglomerate Arvind's plan to go full throttle with premium fabric brand Tresca has hit a roadblock with over 7,000 workers employed at its facility near Ahemdabad going on strike demanding wage revision.
9. A Vellayan back as and chairman of Murugappa Group.
10. Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos has become the third richest american and the fifth richest in the world with his net worth crossing $55 million.
11. Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is giving a third of his twitter stock to company employees.
12. Ratan Tata and American Express has invested in Silicon Valley based digital currency startup, Abra.
13. Aruna Jayanthi CEO of Capgemini India has been elevated as the Global BPO head of the 11 billion Euro Company. Besides this Former I gate HR head Srinivas Kandula has replaced Jayanthi and will be the Capgemini India's CEO.

     

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Bollywood Singer Adnan Sami may soon get Indian Citizenship soon.
2. Income of trust from yoga related activities will now not be subject to service tax.
3. The Bombay High Court directed BMC to remove all hawkers who have set up stalls on roads and foothpaths after May 1,2014.
4. 10 Marathi writers return awards along with the cash prize cheques to the chief ministers office.
5. Muncipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta has ordered an inquiry into the roadworks worth Rs 2000 Crores which were carried out prior to the monsoon.'
6. India will launch a nearly 400 kg 'spy' satellite for Singapore on December 16 using a version of the polar satellite launch vehicle.
7. Pakistani Author Kanza Javed scheduled to launch her debut novel at ongoing Kumaon literary festival on Sunday, has been denied Visa at the last minute.
8. 30,000 Bhojpur Voters likely to press NOTA.

  

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 23RD OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. For the quater ended for 156 companies the net profit rose to 3.9% year on year despite a 9.5% fall in net sales.
2. Sony Music Entertainment eyes 25% market share and is planning to enter the pop business and child-related content in a big way.
3. Zydus Cadilla net profit up 41% at Rs 391 crore for the quarter ended September 30.
4. Gamesa India has signed a 100 Megawatt power project order with Hero Future Energies.
5. About 75% OF 3,450 live real estate projects with investments of Rs 14 Lakh Crores remained non-starters of 2014-15.
6. LIC has initiated talks with public sector banks to sell the 35% stake held by Nomura, in its mutual fund arm.
7. Bharat Diamond Bourse has banned trading of synthetic diamonds on its premises.
8. Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd an arm of Reliance Infrastructure has said there won't be any change in the discounted fares for travel along the 11.4Km metro rail Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor till November 30.
9. Honkong listed women's footwear retailer C.Banner International Holdings will buy 255 year old British Toy Shop for around $154.32 million.
10. Apple Inc will build an additional 200 megawatts of Solar power in China and push suppliers to make similar commitments, as the maker of I-pad and Apple Watch seeks to offset its global emissions in the world's most polluting country.
11. Hyundai Motor said its net profit fell by 23% in third quarter from a year earlier.
12. Housing Finance company DHFL has roped in Shahrukh Khan as its brand ambassador.
13. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC has picked up 50% in US firm Tishman Speyer's Waverock office project in Hyderabad.
14. Keedara Capital is close to picking up 20% stake in ZCL chemicals formerly known as Zandu Chemicals for Rs 180 Crores.
15. Technologies developed in India but having their patents registered in tax havens may come under the domestic tax net from next fiscal year.
16. Reboot Systems India, a refurbisher of desktop computers, laptops and smartphones is in talks to raise $15-25 million in early stage funding as PE interest in the business rises.
17. 32.6 million expected global shipments of HDR TV sets in 2019.
18. Strides Arcolabs, an Indian Drugmaker has expanded its portfolio of offerings by acquiring brands from two companies in separate transactions. Strides signed a deal to buy seven of Johnson and Johnson brands.In a separate transaction it will acquire a majority stake in domestic branded businesses of Medispan.
19. Airline losses to come down 35% to Rs 5,500 Crores this fiscal year.
20. NRI businessman GP Hinduja and his brother SP Hinduja have been judged the most influential Asians in Britains.
21. Coca-Cola Posts 4% volume growth in July-September 2015 quarter.

  

POLITICS, ECONOMY, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, CRIMES AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Shiv Sena attacks BJP but rules out Break-up on issues such as ties with Pakistan, consumption of beef and inflation.
2. Rural inflation which is 6.5% is higher than urban inflation which is 4.5% according to HSBC.
3. Japan has offered to finance India's first bullet train, estimated to cost at an interest rate of less than a percent. 
4. Services provided towards the basic accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana will be exempted from service tax.
5. India defeat South Africa in ODI series now tied at 2-2 with one to play.
6. Central Government gives away 2 crore LED bulbs and saves Rs 1000 Crores a year.
7. Actor Sanjay Dutt has bought a franchise in the UAE based Master Champions League for retired International Cricketers to begin next year.
8. 2015 likely to be the hottest year ever recorded.
9. Bollywood Singer Labh Janjua found dead in Goregaon flat.
10. Maharashtra Government has frozen irrigation projects worth Rs 500 Crores.
11. The Maharashtra State Government has disbursed the first installment of Rs 22 Lakhs meant to be disbursed to unaided, non-minority schools in Mumbai region for admitting students to the 25% seats reserved under Right to Education Act,2009.
12.  PM Modi lays the foundation stone ceremony of New Capital of Andhra Pradesh which is Amravati.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 22ND OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Samsung Electronics is likely to lay off almost 5% of its staff in India. It sacked some 90 employees last week and another 125-150 employees will be asked to leave after Diwali.
2. HDFC Bank has posted a 20% increase in its Net Profit for the quarter ended september at Rs 2,869 Crores.
3. American's Tower Corp will buy a 51% stake in India's Viom Networks in the largest inbound acquisition for Rs 7,635 Crores in cash besides taking on debt, valuing Viom at around Rs 21,000 Crores.
4. Online Fashion retailer Myntra aims to achieve $5 billion in gross merchandise sales volume by 2018-2020 from about $500 million in GMV now and wants to push more private labels.
5. Toyota Recalls 6.5 million vehicles worldwide over a power window glitch that presented a fire risk.
6. Sony launched two new premium range smartphones Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Premium which are priced at Rs 52,990 and Rs 62,990 respectively to compete with Apple and Samsung who have recently launched new premium ranged smartphones in the market.
7. Schneider Electric India is planning to hire 40% women recruits across all levels in an attempt to achieve gender parity.
8. FMCG firm Marico has appointed Sanjay Mishra as the Compnay's Chief Operating Officer for India Sales and Bangladesh.
9. Mobile wallet company Mobikwik expects GMV to touch Rs 700-800 Crores over the next 12 months with half of it coming from offline channels.
10. Italian Car Maker Fiat Chrysler India has launched high performance variant of Punto and Avventura under its brand Abarth priced at Rs 9.95 Lakh.
11. Austrian Crystal Maker Swarovski will now be able to run fully owned stores in India and is planning to invest Rs 75 Crores to expand it store count in India.
12. Idea Cellular reported a 7% rise in consolidated net profit .
13. 100 million monthly active users of Google Photos, 5 months after service was launched.
14. Wipro Quarter 2 Profit up by 7%.
15. Jindal Steel Works Quarter 2 Profit Plunges 84% to Rs 117 Crores.
16. Real Estate Developer The Wadhwa Group has leased space to Navnit Motors for opening Italian luxury sports cars brand Ferrari's first showroom in Mumbai by the end of this month.
17. The Rajasthan Government has rejected the Cairn India's plea to renew the contract for profilic Rajasthan Block with the existing terms and conditions
18. Yahoo has signed a search advertising deal with Google Inc .
19. Bajaj Auto Net Profit rises 58% on higher export realisation with profit at Rs 933 Crores.
20. AkzoNobel India reported a 14.6% increase in its Net Profit at Rs 40.9 Crores.
21. Tata Coffee reported a 15% decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 27.5 Crores.
22. Indiabulls Real Estate reported a two fold increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 75.01 Crores.
23. NIIT consolidated net profit has more than doubled to Rs 20.8 Crores for the september quarter.
24. BlueDart Express reported a 74% increase in its standalone net profit at Rs 53.7 Crores for the quarter ended September 30.
25. Cairn India reported a 70% decline in net profit at Rs 673 Crores.
26. Ranbaxy CEO Arun Sawhney will retire from the company that is now part of Sun Pharma on October 31.
27. Reliance Capital Asset Management will acquire Goldman Sachs Indian Mutual Fund Business for Rs 243 Crores.
28. Maruti Suzuki has hiked wages of temporary workers of its Gurgaon and Manesar Plants including those of Suzuki Powertrain by an average 10% a month.
29. Indus Towers, the world's largest telecom tower promoted Chief Operating Officer Bimal Dayal as CEO-designate with immediate effect.
30. Indiabulls Housing Finance Net Profit rises 24% in Quarter 2.
31. Hard Disk Driver Maker Western Digital would buy Memory Chip Maker SanDisk Corp for about $19 billion.
32. Private Companies announced new projects worth about Rs 2,25,000 Crores in the July-September period.

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. The Union defence Ministry has blocked the transaction of Lincoln House, the two-acre palace property at Breach Candy purchased by industrialist Cyrus Poonawalla from US government for Rs 750 Crores last month.
2. Pakistan may become 5th largest nuclear power by 2025.
3. Dengue cases see 11% drop in 1 week.
4. A UP court has slapped sedition charge on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for criticizing NJAC verdict.
5. 36,000 tonnes of pulses seized from hoarders.
6. CM Manohar Lal Khattar  orders CBI probe into burning alive of dalit family in Faridabad by upper caste perpetrators which lefttwo toddlers dead.
7. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has slammed politics in the name of religion and said nobody should be discriminated against based on faith, caste or creed.
8. China signs $ 6 billion nuclear power deal with Britain.
9. Indian students 3rd in generating London's revenue.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 21ST OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, CARS AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Swedish contract drug manufacturer Recipharm has acquired a 74% equity stake in Nitin LifeSciences, a privately held sterile injectables manufacturing firm for Rs 671 Crores.
2. Reliance Communications, Aircel and Sistema have begun initial talks for a three way merger that could see the emergence of India's third largest Teleco by subscribers.
3. Online Real Estate portal Housing.com is set to raise Rs 220 Crores in a fresh round of funding from Japan's Soft Bank.
4. Snapdeal has appointed Anup Vikal as its new CFO.
5. Flipkart has appointed Samardeep Subandh as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
6. FreshDesk has appointed Nishant Rao as its Chief Operating Officer.
7. Digital Advertising Network Fork Media has acquired WiFi Advertising network Spid Info Media for an undisclosed sum ( $3 million to $5 million).
8. Intex expects to garner upto Rs 1,200 Crores in revenue from Sale of 4G smartphones.
9. Chinese Handset Vendor Lenovo will launch three smartphones exclusively for the offline retail channel during the festive season as the company seeks to improve its presence in India's high growth market.
10. Parsvnath Developers has cleared a debt of Rs 60 Crores to Essel Finance through redemption of non-convertible debentures.
11. Infosys, India's Second Largest software services firm and Chinese ICT solution provider, Huawei have partnered to launch a smart stadium solution. 
12. Taxi aggregator Meru Cabs has forged a global alliance with Europe's Taxi Service , Taxis G7 , to launch eCab in India.
13. Bharti Airtel has raked in over Rs 11,200 Crores by selling about 8,300 towers in seven african countries.
14. Cement Maker ACC reported a drop of 40% in its consolidated net profit at Rs 115.21 Crores for the quarter ended September 30.
15. Bayer Crop Science reported a drop of 15% decline in its net profit at Rs 150 Crores.
16. Adani Transmission reported consolidated net profit of Rs 152.90 Crores.
17. Videocon D2H loss has narrowed to Rs 24.58 Crores.
18. Sanofi India has reported 16.93% rise in its standalone net profit to Rs 72.5 Crores.
19. Dewan Housing Finance Corporation reported a 18.5% rise in net profit at Rs 180.4 Crores.
20. Zee Media Corporation reported a net loss of Rs 17 Crores for the quarter ended September 30.
21. Hero Moto Corporation Net Profit up by 1.1% at Rs 772 Crores.
22. HCL Technologies will absorb 2,600 employees of Volvo Group as a part of a deal to handle the Swedish Automaker's IT infrastructure operations and buy its external IT business.
23. Tata Steel,the biggest steel maker in Britain, may cut about 1,200 jobs as a part of plans to restructure its struggling operations.
24. Tata Housing is in advanced talks with a few institutional investors to raise Rs 3,200 Crores for its upcoming premium and luxury residential projects across top 5 indian cities.
25. Investors Clinic, India's largest online real estate transactions and services platform, is in talks with large private equity funds and foreign banks to raise about Rs 975 Crores.
26. Motilal Oswal Real Estate is looking to raise up to Rs 1000 Crores through its third real estate fund.
27. Mahindra and Mahindra launched an intra-city logistics aggregator platform called SmartShift, which will act as an exchange platform for cargo owners and transporters.
28. Fragrance Maker SH Kelkar has fixed the price band of its Rs 500 Crore initial public offering at Rs 173-180 per share.
29. Japanese financial services major Nomura intends to sell its stake in its mutual fund joint venture with Life Insurance Corporation.
30. Microsoft nominated Johnson & Johnson Sandra Peterson and Former Cisco systems executive Padmasree Warrior to its board.
     

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. Several states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh have carried out raids on pulses traders as the Centre is pushing them to take measures to tame retail prices.
2. The Central Board of Direct Taxes has initiated a pilot project on paperless assessment using emails. E-hearing would be conducted in 100 cases as part of pilot.
3. PM Modi has declared November 26 as ' Samvidhan Divas' or 'Constitution Day' to celebrate the formal adoption of the constitution.
4. Doordarshan like last year is preparing to telecast RSS sarsangchalak's Dusshera address live on October 22.
5. Airlines flew 14.5% more passengers in September over the same month last year. The airline flew 6.67 million passengers in September 2015. IndiGo was leader by carrying 36.5% of the total passengers while Jet Airways was the second largest carrying 22% of the total passengers. Air India was third by carrying 15.9% while SpiceJet at 12.3% was fourth.
6. Facebook one of the best paymasters at engineering campuses is likely to give Indian Institute of Technologies a skip this year.
7. RBI has called for bids from the companies to build the Bharat Bill Payment System which will be a single window for all electronic payments related to utilities, schools and other essential things.
8. The Finance Ministry has said that the country would grow at 7.5% in the current fiscal.
9. India, the world's third largest producer of coal, imported 212.103 million tonnes of dry fuel worth over Rs 1 lakh crores in the last fiscal.
10. Employment in 8 sectors rose by 5.21 lakh last fiscal.
11. Bachchans to get Rs 50,000 each will be among the first beneficiaries of UP's new pension scheme for awardees of the Yash Bharti Samman.
12. Cricketer Amit Mishra assaults woman in Bengaluru hotel.
13. Railway Cash van transporting Rs 56 Lakhs was looted by a gang at gun point at Thane city near Nilje Railway Station.
14. NMAT registrations rise by 15%.
15. BEST workers union has threatened to go on three day strike from October 27 following the administration's decision to reject its demand for bonus.
16. Maharashtra State Government as sanctioned Rs 50 Lakh to repair the structure before the visit of PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial in London.
17. Enforcement Directorate attached investments worth Rs 70.17 Crores of the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) after allegations of money laundering.
18. A 45 year old great grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi has been accused of defrauding two businessmen over $830,000 in South Africa.
19. TOI Jayashree Nandi won the merit award for '"Sustained Enviornmental Reporting by a Journalist" at the fourth asian Enviornmental Journalism Awards.
20. The state governments have seized at least 5,800 tonnes of pulses in several raids on hoarders.
21. Cricketer Virender Sehwag quits International Cricket.

    

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 20TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE, CARS AND TECHNOLOGY

1. IndiGo cuts IPO size by Rs 200 Crore to Rs 3000 Crores. The promoters of the company will now sell about 23 million shares, against 26.1 million proposed for the IPO's offer-for-sale (OFS) component.
2. HCL Technologies reported a 7.9 % fall in Net Profit for September Quarter 3 at Rs 1726 Crores.
3. UltraTech Cement reported three percent growth in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September at Rs 427 Crores, owing to increased sales and better operating margins.
4. Infosys would acquire US-based Noah Consulting for $70 million (Rs 454 Crores) in an all cash deal.
5. Hindustan Zinc's Net Profit up by 5% at Rs 2,285 Crores for the September quarter.
6. Fertilizer Firm Mangalore Chemical And Fertilizers Ltd appointed Arun Duggal as Chairman.
7. Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker announced the introduction of Ciaz RS, a new variant of its popular mid-size sedan at Rs 9,20,000.
8. Taxi hailing service Ola has crossed the 25 million unique customer milestone and claims to have served 150 million bookings on its platform till date.
9. Petronet LNG Net Profit down by 5.3% at Rs 248 Crores.
10. Snapdeal has shipped six million orders as part of its diwali sales.
11. Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd reported a net loss of Rs 19.4 Crores.
12. The Board of Indian Hotel Company, the country's biggest hotel chain, approved the amalgamation of two of its wholly owned subsidiaries into itself. 
13. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India launched hatchback Abarth Punto at Rs 9.95 Lakh.
14. Wall Street Bank Morgan Stanley profits drops by 42%.
15. Chipmaker Microsemi Corp offered to buy PMC-Sierra Inc for about $2.2 billion, trumping a $2 billion offer from SkyWorks Solutions Inc.
16. John Cryan, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Detusche Bank is splitting the investment bank as he prepares to scale back the trading empire built by his predecessor.
17. Italian Chocolate Maker Ferrero Rocher to invest Rs 367 Crores in India.
18. Ola eyes 3 million daily bookings by April next year.
19. Attune Technologies a Chennai- Based software product firm, has raised Rs 64 Crores in a funding round that was led by Qualcomm Ventures India and existing investor Norwest Venture Partners.
20. Xiaomi has unveiled a self-balancing scooter called Ninebot Mini.
21. 468 million phones sold by Nokia in its peak in 2008.
22. AgentDesks, a mobile first CRM for real estate agents, has announced that it has raised $2.95 million from Sierra Ventures, Cota Capital and Vegas Tech Fund among others in a seed round.
23. Hyperlocal Delivery startup Opinio has raised Rs 45 Crores in a funding round led by logistics company Delhivery with the participation of Sands Capital Ventures and existing investor Accel Partners.
24. Private equity firm Carlyle, Kedaara Capital and Multiples Alternatives are among a clutch of firms negotiating with South African Drugmaker Adcock Ingram for acquiring its loss-making India unit, Cosme Farma.
25. Apollo Health and Lifestyle, a subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals, has hired investment bank Spark Capital to manage divestment of 25% stake to private equity funds as it seeks to raise Rs 500 Crores to fund expansion.
26. Private Equity Firm India Value Fund Advisors will invest between $100 million and $150 million (Rs 640- Rs 970 Crore) in food business over the next two years.
27. White Owl Brewery has raised Rs 10 Crores from Angel Investors.
28. Alibaba founder Jack Ma, has been appointed by British Prime Minister David Cameron to advise him on business.
29. Real Estate aggregator platform Square Yards has acquired Oryden Tech Labs, a creative design studio based out of Ahemdabad for an undisclosed amount.
30. Jacqueline Reses a Chief Development Officer at Yahoo is resigning to join Jack Dorsey's Square.
31. International rating agency Standard & Poor's has retained India's sovereign rating at 'BBB' with stable outlook on the back of improved policy stability and predictability but ruled out an upgrade.

  

POLITICS, CRIMES, ECONOMY, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. China's growth slows to 6.9% in September quarter compared to the year ago period.
2. Gujarat and Karnataka lifted a ban on Nestle's India's Maggi Noodles. Karnataka's move will allow Nestle India to manufacture the product at its plant in the state.
3. Central Government raised the import duty on wheat to 25%.
4. Nepalese Deputy PM Kamal Thapa met PM Modi in an effort to overcome the hiccups in bilateral ties.
5. Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government is planning to push its mobile app      'Poocho' as an option to commuters looking for Taxis and Auto.
6. Sankritist SR Bhatt likely to head Indian Council of Philosophical Research.
7. The Election Commission has asked its officials to ensure deployment of central para-military forces at all polling stations in Bihar during the remaining phases of polls.
8. Public Sector lender Oriental Bank of Commerce will raise Rs 1000 crore through an issue of tier-II bonds on private placement basis.
9. ICC withdrew Pakistan Umpires Aleem Dar from officiating in the remaining two matches of the ongoing ODI between India and South Africa.
10. 5 former ministers who demitted office years ago have still not cleared their telephone bills worth Rs 4 Lakhs.
11. Out of 722 Navratri Mandaps 230 Mandaps were illegal.
12. Actor Vishal Thakkar held for sexual assault of TV actress.
13. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a review of all catering contracts and blacklisting of companies involved in unfair and corrupt practices.
14. Government to import 3,000 tonnes of pulses.
15. Former Indian Olympic Association President Ashwini Kumar who was honoured with Olympic Order in 2002 passes away.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 19TH OCTOBER 2015

CORPORATE AFFAIRS, E-COMMERCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. New Delhi based auto component maker Amtek Auto is close to reaching a solution with JP Morgan which holds its non-convertible debentures wort Rs 200 Crores.
2. Piramal Fund Management is in talks with sovereign funds and global pension funds for 50:50 Joint Venture to provide equity capital to developers.
3. Apart from MNC subsidiaries, about 155 Indian firms are likely to qualify for country by country reporting.
4. Delhi based food booking platform TravelKhana connects railway travellers with restaurants.
5. Chennai based telecom service provider Aircel is betting highly on third-generation mobile services for the next level of growth as it expects to double its 3G user base in the next 1 year.
6. Cube 26 a startup that works with original equipment manufacturers to develop interactive user applications using human gestures has raised Rs 50 Crores in seed funding led by Tiger Global Management and Flipkart.
7. Housing.com has appointed Mani Rangarajan as Chief Financial Officer.
8. Adani Enterprises is expected to proceed with building its $7.2 billion Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project in Queensland State, Australia.
9. Lanco Infratech won a case in Supreme Court for its subsidiary company Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited (LKPL) as a result it is entitled for reimbursement of Income-Tax of about Rs 175 Crores for Financial year 2001 to 2012 along with interest till an date of payment adjusting the adhoc amount of Rs 70 Crores already received.
10. Wadia Group promoted budget carrier Go Air is planning an Initial Public Offer this financial year ahead of the scheduled delivery of 72 new AirBus A-320 planes starting April next year.
11. Diebold Inc has offered $1.78 billion to acquire Wincor Nixdorf AG potentially creating a manufacturer of cash machines and security systems with $6 billion in sales.
12. Chinese E-Commerce giant Alibaba group Holding Ltd is lobbying hard to stay off the US Trade Representative's blacklist after coming under renewed pressure this year over suspected counterfeits sold on its shopping platform.
13. Volkswagen offices searched after ex-CFO quits post at Porsche.
14. Infosys CoFounder Nadan Nilekani , SnapDeal's Kunal Bahl and host of other technology and startup heavy weights have co-invested in LetsVenture.
15.  Apple is in talks with Intel to manufacture chipsets for the next I-Phone. Intel reportedly already has a team of 1000 people working on chips for the next generation I-phone.
16. 1.3 Million Sq.feet Warehouse space used by snapdeal's sellers.
17. Messaging and Chat App LookUp has raised $2.5 million in series A Funding.
18. Reliance Brands has drawn up plans for expansion of global shoe brand Steve Madden in India.
19. Reliance will enroll 1,50,000 small and medium vendors for its e-commerce marketplace by the end of this fiscal that will take on the likes of Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.
20. International Advertising firm Aegis Network has acquired majority stake in Fountain Head Entertainment , a Mumbai based entertainment, events and activation agency. The deal is in the range of Rs 300 to 400 Crores.
21. Religare Global Asset Management, part of Religare Enterprises is looking to mop up Rs 1000 Crores fund from domestic investors in India in a first ever education infrastructure fund raising initiative.
22. Suhas Sahakari has been appointed as the Managing Director of SVC Bank.
23. BS Canth has been appointed as the Director (Marketing) of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
24. Aditya Birla Group is planning to list its Mauritius based holding company for Carbon Black SKI Carbon Black (India) in overseas markets, making it the first such case.
25. Stephen Holmes,Chairman and CEO of Wynham Worldwide, the world's largest frachiser of hotel brands said that its group is going to add 42 hotels in India.
26. Kotak is Economic Times Business Leader of 2015.
27. Top Tier Investment fund Westbridge Capital has raised another $575 million (Rs 3,735 Crore) to back Indian Companies taking its assets under management to $ 2 billion, the fastest scale-up for any domestic focused fund.
28. Citrus Payment Solutions has closed a $25 million round of fund raising led by private equity Ascent Capital and early investor Sequoia.

POLITICS, ECONOMY, CRIMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT & NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

1. With Mining operations commencing in only seven of the 67 mines auctioned and allocated, the government has so far collected only Rs 133 Crores against the total bid revenue and royalties expected.
2. Beverage giant Pepsi has been replaced by Chinese mobile handset maker Vivo as title sponsor for the Indian Premier League T2O Season 2016 and 2017.
3.  IIM- Ahemdabad has been ranked 60 in The Economist 2015 ranking of full time MBA's, dropping 12 places from last year.
4. India's Media and Entertainment sector will be worth $100 billion by 2025 according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Confederation Of Indian Industry (CII).
5. Greek lawmakers clear way for $2.3 billion in bailout funds.
6. A charitable institution is entitled to set apart 25% of the total income for charitable purposes even if it is not spent in the assessment year.
7. If a candidate in the merit list is not selected during a particular academic year due to the fault of the professional college or state authorities, the court may grant compensation to them.
8. US President Barack Obama has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a meeting at the White House on 22nd October 2015.
9. Patidar reservation agitation leader Hardik Patel intention's to disrupt the India-South Africa One Day International Cricket Match were foiled owing to tough resistance from the state administration.
10. A 105 feet high monumental flagpole bearing the tricolor was installed in the sprawling diplomatic enclave in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri area, becoming the second structure to dot the landscape of the capital.
11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee will next month launch a single window clearance mechanism backed by a Rs 1000 Crore kitty to get Indian Technical Institutions to conduct original research in areas where the country is heavily dependent on foreign technology. 
12. Ahead of government's vehicle safety norms set to kick in 2017, Maruti Suzuki India plans to introduce features like Airbags and anti-locking braking systems as an option in its mass marketing models. 
13. An Indian origin business school SP Jain Global Management has been to rated among the world's top 100 MBA institutions this year.
14. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has sought premium gas pricing for an undeveloped deep sea block in the KG basin where it plans to invest $6 billion.
15. London's Big Ben to fall silent for months as it undergoes repairs upto 40 million.
16. Government Imposes stock limits on pulses to check prices.
17. BCCI to float tenders inviting bids for two new franchises for 2016 and 2017.  
18. CBSE has clarified that providing Aadhaar number will not be mandatory.
19. CBI has arrested two senior railway officials in the Rail Neer Scam.
20. Three times more women than men choose to take diksha. Male- 358 and Female-694 Total-1052 ( Till July 31 2015).
21. Pakistan's Intelligence Agencies have warned the government that Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing has tasked its agents to kill Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif and Jammat-Ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed.
22. Directorate General of Central Excise intelligence arrested Gunvant Shah, director of Suraj Ltd for Rs 11.97 Crores Central Excise Duty Evasion.
23. Renowed Urdu Poet Munawwar Rana became the second litterateur from Uttar Pradesh to return Sahitya Akademi award.
24. India and Nasa will embark on an educational project called ' Spaceward BoundIndia 2016' that will see students hunt for microorganisms at an altitude of 3,500-5000 ft.
25. Researchers have invented a new 3-D printed swim suit capable of cleaning up oil spills and desalinising water while people swim.
26. A has former Uber driver in US who raped and kidnapped a woman in 2014 has been sentenced to upto 12 years in jail.
27. Nepal prepares to pick a New President next week.
28. Ex-General Naseer Khan Janjua to replace Sartaj Aziz as Pakistan's next National Security Advisor.